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The New
Brunswick Coalition for Literacy: “It’s like a prism,” says Anne Leslie, Interim Director of the New Brunswick Coalition for Literacy, describing the Coalition and what it does. “Literacy is the light, the goal. Focus that light into a prism and you can see the spectrum of literacy needs in New Brunswick. Our job, our goal is to let everyone know what those needs are, and, in partnership with others, undertake activities and projects that address them.” “Every meeting of the Board of directors of the coalition, which is made up of and represents learners, various branches of the federal and provincial government, volunteer organizations, labour and other agencies that have literacy as part of their mandate, is a forum for ideas and shared information. Each meeting”, says Leslie, “is an experience of learning together.” “We take time in our board meetings to talk about what the individual members are doing in the field of literacy. Often we get to preview promotional campaigns, resource materials under development or new training programs. Through this dialogue we are able to draw on each others’ experience and expertise. By doing this we can cut down on the duplication of programs and activities. Many co-operative efforts have been created through this communication process, as a result.”
The Coalition, which has been in operation since 1988, as a grass roots organization is focusing on three areas for 2002-2003. The first, is the Literacy Toolkit, an idea that emerged from the Learning Together Conference, sponsored by the Coalition and La Fédération d’alphabétisation du Nouveau-Brunswick, held in Moncton in April 2001. It became apparent in the workshop on fund-raising that literacy groups throughout the province were finding it difficult to raise the money they needed. Additionally, there seemed to be a shortage of volunteers to help. The Coalition decided to create a toolkit that would help with fund-raising, volunteer management and recruitment, especially developed for the New Brunswick literacy community. A consultant was hired to lead focus groups in Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John and Miramichi to discover what barriers the literacy groups faced. Out of these discussions came a long list of items people wanted to see in the toolkit : everything from lists of possible donors and sponsors to primers on how to write proposals. This year the Coalition will research what is currently available both from the Canadian literacy scene and also what is available from other non-profit organizations. Once the content is developed, it will be reproduced and distributed to literacy classrooms, literacy practitioners, tutors, literacy councils and literacy organizations throughout the province of New Brunswick. The Coalition will be sponsoring a family literacy training session for upwards of 40 literacy practitioners, social workers, Department of Family and Community Services interventionists and daycare workers in the coming year. The professional development training workshops will build on the knowledge and skills that literacy practitioners have developed through their years of experience and will provide individuals new to the field of family literacy with a theoretical and best practices base. It will challenge literacy practitioners to think about family literacy in different ways. The workshops will be based on Foundational Training in Family Literacy: Practitioner’s Guide, which was the result of a cross-country collaboration. The Centre for Family Literacy in Edmonton, Alberta , along with St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and family literacy and adult literacy organizations across the country, developed the materials. The Coalition will be providing this training because it believes that there is a real need for it in the province. “Family literacy practitioners in N.B. are thirsty for knowledge,” says Leslie, adding that because the course has been developed around a series of core principles or “essential understandings” derived from research and best practices of a strengths-based participatory model of working with families and communities, it will be very helpful for those who work in the field.” “The third area of concentration for the Coalition will be with adult learners. It is the intention of the Coalition”, says Leslie, “to develop a Learner’s Network”. “Adult learners have expressed a great need for understanding and acceptance. They need to be recognized for their willingness to face the challenges of learning, and their voice needs to be heard in the planning and promotion of literacy programs and services. Adult learners can tell others about the benefits of lifelong learning more poignantly than anyone else, because they’ve been there. The Coalition wants to give adult learners a voice in the province, to empower them so they can influence the issues that affect them.”
To this end, adult learners from various parts of the province are going to be brought together to discuss the idea of a network and to develop a communication strategy to help bring the lifelong learning message to other adults who need to improve their literacy skills. Plans also exist to create a Learner’s Speaker’s Bureau for the province so that learners can share their stories as guest speakers at events and meetings. Included in that plan is training in public speaking, and information sessions on being on a board, and how to run a meeting. A manual on these subjects will also be produced and distributed to learners throughout the province. In the meantime, the Coalition continues to operate its toll-free line listed under “Learn” in the yellow pages of the phone book, referring those who inquire to literacy programs or resources available to them in their communities. In preparation for Family Literacy Day on January 27th, the Coalition also distributes thousands of posters, buttons, tip sheets provided by the ABC Canada Literacy Foundation. The Coalition took on the PGI Tournament for Literacy for the first time in its history in 2002. The tournament raised $75,000 for literacy in N.B. A 2003 New Brunswick PGI organizing committee has already begun work on the next tournament. The Coalition’s office in Fredericton is also the source of Storysacks materials. For more information, please
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